"It will require some work for at least two or three days if not more." Jax started to work on the gate. Thanks to Kurkhak being in the factory, he didn't need to worry about formation defense mechanisms. Jax at the beginning fixed the closest parts to the core of formation. Each formation have a core that defines properties and role of formation, it works similar to CPU in computer. The thing that has core created or placed in, is like motherboard. It allows core to connect to entire formation. The runes and entire arrangement are like software and files that allow formation to perform more sophisticated actions. For Jax it was fun to work with formation, to create new stuff and improve.
"Oh, that symbol is inefficient, I can replace it with another one, and increase defensive power by few percents." To fix formation the only thing needed was to use magic, but because Jax wanted to improve it he needed to change pathways of formation.
...
Elizabeth was writing a report.
"Just what is he planning to create?" Jax used an enormous amount of money and resources. She also got a letter from Dragon Kingdom about it as well." It should be worth it." She trusted Jax in that matter. When she thought about Jax, she touched her stomach. After taking the greater regeneration serum, she asked royal healers to check her. They said that something was changing. Which was her was a good sight.
"If only you were here, my love." she said, looking at the portrait in her office.
....
A few days later, Jax finished working on the formation. He was satisfied with his work.
"Everything is repaired, and I was able to raise the efficiency and power of gate by quite big percentage." The runes used in this gate were quite ancient, but they weren't that much different compared to these used now, also Jax have knowledge about ancient formations.
"Now the boring part." Jax started to move broken stones over, he covered the entire gate with them. After that, he started to mend stones together using his power. When he was done, Jax left the place.
"I need to find some monsters to test the prototype." He sped up, looking for monsters. Some time later, he found a bunch of frost apes.
"This should be enough". He appeared before the frost apes. When they saw him, they roared and started to run towards him. He pulled out the box and placed it on his forearm. It started to expand and change, and few moments later, Jax had arm cannon.
He pointed at the charging apes. Cannon started to absorb energy in the air. When Jax felt it couldn't absorb more, he fired it towards the nearest ape. Energy exploded from the cannon in the form of a bright beam of light. The nearest ape felt something was amiss and looked down to see that there was a big hole in its stomach. It was the last thing it saw.
"It isn't bad, but it lacks power. I can increase it, but it will come at the cost of durability. This cannon is still just a prototype, so I don't expect it to be perfect." He fired it more times, each time it completely penetrated the body of the frost ape, and if some ape was behind the one he shot at, it was dead too.
"This should be enough, I gathered some data. I just look for Merlin and the rest"
He changed the arm cannon back to the box, then he spread his [Divine Sense] to search for expedition. He found them, but they weren't alone.
"Mmm? These aren't monsters, but a beatsman? I need to show them soon, to not attack each other." He threw the box, and went on his snowboard towards the expedition.
...
"Haha, pathetic humans, not so tough, aren't you?" The beastman laughed, he had a wolf's head. He was holding a sword against Merlin's neck.
'Why Grandmaster Knight Beastman is here' Merlin lamented. Merlin tried to protect his students, but because his opponent was someone at the same level, he couldn't use all the spells in fear of harming his students.
Other beatsman also laughed, they were all at master knight level. Jax was hiding using camouflage formations.
'I am not at the level of grandmaster, but if I can get rid of him, others will be just sitting ducks.' Jax placed the arm cannon again, but now he removed all safe protocols, and limiters put on this.' I can't kill him, but thanks to grandmaster knight vitality I can easily put a hole in his stomach, and he will live long enough.' Jax aimed at the wolf beastman.
"What will you do now? Beg for mercy? Lick my shoes? Or become my slave? What is your choi" he didn't finish, because he coughed blood and fell on the ground. Merlin smiled. 'I need to thank you Jax, I will definitely repay you'
"Boss! Who did this?!" Yelled one of the subordinates of wolf beastman, but a few seconds later he saw the world upside down, and then the world was swallowed by the darkness. Jax started to kill every beatsman around. It took him only a minute to do that, with his bare hands. He turned toward the wolf beastman. Jax walked towards him, and turned him around.
"You beatsman have great vitality, don't you agree?" Jax asked.
"Fuck you, I will not beg for mercy, and I will never say anything!" Wolf beastman wanted to yell, but his mouth was filling with blood. Jax just took the soul-capturing box and connected the string with the wolf beastman.
"I don't care. You will talk this way or another." Jax put his hand into the wound, and ripped the beastman's heart from inside. It was the easiest and the quickest way. When he did that, soul capturing box shined for a moment.
"Sir Merlin, how many casualties did we suffer?" Merlin smiled bitterly.
"20% of students are dead, others are wounded." Jax nodded, and summoned the box filled with medicines.
"Here are [Temporary Greater Regeneration Serum], and bars to cover energy consumption, use them only for people on the verge of death. For lighter injuries, you have healing potions. I must go now, Elizabeth must get information." Merlin nodded. Jax flew towards the nearest spatial gate.
...
Elizabeth was enjoying, her free time while eating some cookies and other sweets. 'I must admit, not having to care about my weight and looks is great'. She was enjoying the moment of peace and quiet, until her nightmare appeared. Jax opened the doors to her room.
"Elizabeth, I have something extremely important to sa... Why are you so pissed?" He asked. 'I had finally free time from Gods know when, and he had to appear right now.'
"Jax, if this isn't something extremely important, I will kick you." Jax felt a shiver running down his spine. He took a soul-capturing box and created a soundproof barrier around them. He cut off the string connected to slime core.
"I will never tell you anything. I am a proud member of the Wolf clan." Soul said. Jax, in response just started to cut off and fix one string after another. It didn't work.
"Haha, I don't fear death." Soul laughed. Jax turned his head toward Elizabeth.
"Can you use your flames?" She nodded. Legends say that the royal family of the Phoenix Kingdom are descendants of human and phoenix. Thanks to that, Elizabeth has access to [Phoenix Flames], which can burn anything around, even souls. She started to burn inside of the box.
"Ahh! It hurts! Stop it!" A few minutes later, the beastman started to talk.
"I am Fenn from the Wolf clan. We were tasked with capturing a human called Jax, and to fake his death by using monsters in the Frozen Mountains. After that, create an avalanche to cover our tracks. We couldn't find him, so we created a trap, using academy expedition members."
"Who tasked you with this?" Asked Elizabeth.
"It was a federation council idea." Fenn replied
"I must make purge them from my country, I will not tolerate killing my people." Jax just shook his head.
"If you do that, more beatsman will help federation,just search for the culprits, and silence the witness." Jax said.
"Fine, I will do it your way." Elizabeth agreed.
"I will leave interrogation to you, now I must go." He turned to leave, but Elizabeth grabbed his arm." Something happened?"
"Why did you need so many resources?"
"I will show you in the near future, so don't worry"
He exited the room and went to visit his parents.
...
"So how are you feeling, mom?" Jax asked, and information from the necklace said that everything was alright, but he wanted to check himself.
"Everything is fine, thanks to the thing you gave me, I don't feel sick. It's just like a dream." Abigail smiled. Jax was happy. 'Well, I could tell the gender of my sibling, but let's just keep it as a secret'
"Son, do you have plans for your territory?" Haytham asked. Jax was gifted a land not far from the capital that included mines, a lot of farmland, and cities.
"I will take it, after my 16th birthday," Jax replied. If he took it now, he would need to spend time governing it instead of doing experiments.
"Do you like Queen Elizabeth?" Abigail asked a question, which caused Jax to spill the tea.
"I'm an 8-year-old mom, and I also don't want to think about it." Jax shook his head.
"And so what? You don't have the mind of the child, and you didn't reject it. I don't want you to marry someone unworthy of you, and Queen is young and nice." Jax wanted to say that the queen isn't so young, but Abigail looked him deep into the eyes. 'Mother is older than Elizabeth; if I say Elizabeth is old, that means mother is even older' he didn't have a death wish, so he just didn't say anything.
"Think about it. Queen also doesn't want to be with just nobody and try to think of a better person than you." Abigail continued. Jax just stayed silent.
...
At the same time as the royal palace.
"You should get remarried," said a middle-aged woman.
"Mom, I don't want it, also I…" Elizabeth wanted to answer, but her mother, late Queen Eleonora. She looked the same as Elizabeth, just older.
"I know you still grieve for your husband, but you need to find someone else. I don't say do it now, but you should do it in future" Eleonora interrupted. She didn't want to force her daughter, but an heir is needed." Kingdom needs new queen after you pass away."
"I can't have children, don't you remember?!" Elizabeth yelled, and flames appeared around her." I lost my fucking child on that battlefield, my husband, and my ability to be a mother! And you dare to expect me, to have a child with those disgusting nobles, who only look at my breasts, and pretend to respect me?!" The flames around her grew even more.
"I didn't say you need to choose someone from them." Eleonora calmly replied.
"So who do you have in mind? Someone from the Dragon Kingdom? To make some deals with them?"
"Nope. I have in mind Jax from the Zephir Clan." After Eleonora finished, the entire room became dead silent.
"So I should be with a small kid? Am I a pedophile?" Elizabeth asked through teeth.
"His mind isn't that of a little kid, he tricked you into a deal. It's just his body that needs to grow."
"Still, he is a kid." Elizabeth started.
"That doesn't see you as a pretty woman, but as a business partner. You never felt from him any gaze other than a normal one." Eleonora cut her daughter off. Elizabeth wanted to say something, but she couldn't disagree with that. Jax didn't treat her as just a pretty woman or a queen, but as an equal. She didn't like it at first, but it wasn't bad to just talk with someone without false courtesy.